Lord Adonis says some universities are charging students more than the cost of running their courses to cross-subsidise more expensive degreesTimes photographer Ben Gurr

Universities have been accused of running a tuition fees cartel by a former education minister, who has reported them to the competition regulator.

Lord Adonis said that he had asked the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate because all English universities charge the maximum £9,000 a year.

He told The Times that numerous institutions were charging students more than the cost of running their courses and using this to cross-subsidise more expensive degrees.

When tuition fees rose from £3,000 to £9,000 in 2012 they were supposed to create greater variability in the market, Lord Adonis said, with universities competing by charging lower fees for some courses. Legislation should be introduced to ensure that this happened, he said.